Letter from the Pastor
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November 12, 2023On the eastern wall of our Church, the stained glass windows depict 4 young women saints. Our Blessed Lady at the moment of the Annunciation, St. Kateri Tekakwitha, the Lily of the Mohawks, St. Joan of Arc, the warrior saint and the last window whom we celebrate this Friday, November 17th—Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, carrying red roses.
Her short life began in 1207 as the daughter of the Hungarian King Andrew II. At the age of 4 Elizabeth's father arranged for her to be married to a German nobleman, Ludwig (Louis) of Thuringia, which happened 10 years later.
Soon after the engagement, Elizabeth was separated from her parents and brought to the Royal Court in Germany. Adding to her sorrow Elizabeth's mother Gertrude was murdered four years later.
At the age of 14, she was married to Ludwig. Unlike many of the royal arranged marriages, Ludwig truly loved Elizabeth and saw in her holiness and love for God. He supported her efforts to live out the Gospel even within the royal court. She was introduced to the newly formed Franciscan order, resolving to use her position as queen to advance their mission of charity. The king and queen became extremely generous toward the poor and sick.
They had three children, two of whom went on to live as members of the nobility, although one of them –her only son– died relatively young. The third eventually entered religious life and became abbess of a German convent.
Elizabeth had a special love and devotion for the poor. She took charge of distributing food and clothing to victims of disease and flooding that struck Thuringia. She took charge of caring for the afflicted, even when this required giving up the royal family's own clothes and goods. The road up to the Castle was extremely difficult to climb on foot, so Elizabeth arranged for a hospital to be built at the bottom of the hill. It is recorded that the hospital provided for the needs of nearly a thousand desperately poor people on a daily basis.
In the year 1227, King Ludwig had promised to assist the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II during the Sixth Crusade, but he died of illness in Italy en route to Jerusalem. Devastated by Ludwig's death, Elizabeth vowed never to remarry. She grieved her loving and holy husband.
Elizabeth used her remaining money to build another hospital, where she personally attended to the sick almost constantly. Sending away her servants, she joined the Third Order of St. Francis, seeking to emulate the example of St. Francis as closely as her responsibilities would allow. Near the end of her life, she lived in a small hut and made her own clothes.
Working continually with the severely ill, Elizabeth became sick herself, dying of illness in November of 1231. After she died, miraculous healings soon began to occur at her grave near the hospital, and she was declared a saint only four years later.
St. Elizabeth is depicted holding roses, or giving out bread. The story of the holy roses: Elizabeth upset many in the Royal Court because of her simple lifestyle, her spirituality, and her closeness to the Franciscans. The courtiers, and the ladies in waiting never accepted her; Elizabeth refrained from court intrigue, gossip, etc. Those in court would tell stories and lie about her, how she was a thief, who stole from the castle, etc. One day, when Elizabeth was secretly bringing bread from the castle to the poor, she encountered her husband in the street. He had been told that she was stealing from the castle, so he asked her what she was carrying in her apron. When she opened it, beautiful roses appeared to the delight of the King who saw that as a sign of divine favor.
Pope Benedict XVI has praised her as a “model for those in authority,” noting the link between her personal love for God, and her public life and work on behalf of the poor. She is especially beloved by Germans, and Hungarians. A parish Church in NYC is named in her honor.
We are privileged to have her image in our window to see and to let the rising sunlight shine through her unto us.
Don’t forget to come to the Requiem Concert this afternoon at 3:00PM.
It is quite lovely music to pray and remember our beloved dead
during the month of November.
